SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME

• US 20100019250A1
• Filed: 10/07/2009
• Published: 01/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuji Electric Company Limited (Fuji Electric Systems Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Electric Holdings Company Limited (Fuji Electric Systems Company Limited)
• Inventors: NAKAMURA, Shun-Ichi, YONEZAWA, Yoshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,178,920 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/77
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/045 by their particular orientation of crystalline planes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0619 with a supplementary region doped oppositely to or in rectifying contact with the semiconductor containing or contacting region, e.g. guard rings with PN or Schottky junction
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0634 Multiple reduced surface field (multi-RESURF) structures, e.g. double RESURF, charge compensation, cool, superjunction (SJ), 3D-RESURF, composite buffer (CB) structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0649 Dielectric regions, e.g. SiO2 regions, air gaps
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0657 characterised by the shape of the body
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0661 specially adapted for altering the breakdown voltage by removing semiconductor material at, or in the neighbourhood of, a reverse biased junction, e.g. by bevelling, moat etching, depletion etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0878 Impurity concentration or distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1608 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/4236 within a trench, e.g. trench gate electrode, groove gate electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/42368 the thickness being non-uniform
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/4238 characterised by the surface lay-out
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66068 the devices being controllable only by the electric current supplied or the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched, e.g. three-terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7811 with an edge termination structure guard regions per se H01L29/0619; field plates per se H01L29/402
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7813 with trench gate electrode, e.g. UMOS transistors trench gate electrodes per se H01L29/4236

Abstract

A semiconductor device and a method of forming thereof has a base body has a field stopping layer, a drift layer, a current spreading layer, a body region, and a source contact region layered in the order on a substrate. A trench that reaches the field stopping layer or the substrate is provided. A gate electrode is provided in the upper half section in the trench. In a section deeper than the position of the gate electrode in the trench, an insulator is buried that has a normal value of insulation breakdown electric field strength equal to or greater than the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the semiconductor material of the base body. This inhibits short circuit between a gate and a drain due to insulation breakdown of an insulator film at the bottom of the trench to realize a high breakdown voltage in a semiconductor device using a semiconductor material such as SiC. The sidewall surfaces of the trench located below the gate electrode is inclined to form a trapezoidal profile.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

a base body formed of semiconductor material, the base body having a trench formed from the top surface thereof;

a body region provided on the top surface side of the base body;

a source region provided on the top surface side of the body region;

a drain region provided on the bottom surface side of the base body;

a drift layer provided in the base body between the source region and the drain region;

a highly doped layer forming at least part of the drain region;

a gate insulator film formed of insulating material provided at least on sidewall surfaces of the trench; and

a gate electrode provided in the trench with the gate insulator film provided at least between the sidewall surfaces of the trench,

wherein a product of a value of an insulation breakdown electric field strength and a value of a relative permittivity of the semiconductor material forming the base body is larger than a product of a normal value of an insulation breakdown electric field strength and a value of a relative permittivity of the insulating material forming the gate insulator film,

wherein the trench penetrates the base body and the drift layer and reaches the highly doped layer on the drain region side,

wherein a section of the trench deeper than the gate electrode is filled with an insulator having a normal value of an insulation breakdown electric field strength equal to or higher than the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the semiconductor material of the base body,

wherein the insulator at the bottom end of the gate electrode is thicker than the drift layer,

wherein the sidewall surfaces of the trench located below the gate electrode is inclined to form a trapezoidal profile, and

wherein the semiconductor material forming the base body is SiC, and each of the gate insulator film and the insulator filling the trench is SiO₂.

2. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a semiconductor region becoming the drift layer is of an n type and fixed charges existing in the insulator filling the trench are positive.

3. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a semiconductor region becoming the drift layer is of a p type and fixed charges existing in the insulator filling the trench are negative.

4. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when an electric field is applied to the base body side of an interface between the insulator filling the trench and the base body in such a way as to be perpendicular to the interface with a value of strength becoming √

{square root over (5/9)} times of the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the semiconductor material forming the base body, the drain region and a semiconductor region becoming a body region in the base body have characteristics where the drain region and the semiconductor region becoming the body region are not completely isolated from each other by a depletion layer spreading into the semiconductor region in the base body and by the insulator filling the trench.

5. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 2, wherein, when an electric field is applied to the base body side of an interface between the insulator filling the trench and the base body in such a way as to be perpendicular to the interface with a value of strength becoming √

{square root over (5/9)} times of the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the semiconductor material forming the base body, the drain region and a semiconductor region becoming a body region in the base body have characteristics where the drain region and the semiconductor region becoming the body region are not completely isolated from each other by a depletion layer spreading into the semiconductor region in the base body and by the insulator filling the trench.

6. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, when an electric field is applied to the base body side of an interface between the insulator filling the trench and the base body in such a way as to be perpendicular to the interface with a value of strength becoming √

{square root over (5/9)} times of the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the semiconductor material forming the base body, the drain region and a semiconductor region becoming a body region in the base body have characteristics where the drain region and the semiconductor region becoming the body region are not completely isolated from each other by a depletion layer spreading into the semiconductor region in the base body and by the insulator filling the trench.

7. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, letting the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and the value of the relative permittivity of the semiconductor material forming the base body be E_S and ε

_S, respectively, and letting the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and a value of a relative permittivity of the insulator filling the trench be E_I and ε

_I, respectively, when an electric field is applied to the base body side of an interface between the insulator filling the trench and the base body in such a way as to be perpendicular to the interface with a value of strength becoming {(E_I/E_S)²−

1}/{(ε

_S/ε

_I)²−

1} times of E_S, the drain region and a semiconductor region becoming a body region in the base body have characteristics where the drain region and the semiconductor region becoming the body region are not completely isolated from each other by a depletion layer spreading over in the insulator filling the trench and the semiconductor region in the base body.

8. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 2, wherein, letting the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and the value of the relative permittivity of the semiconductor material forming the base body be E_S and ε

_S, respectively, and letting the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and a value of a relative permittivity of the insulator filling the trench be E_I and ε

_I, respectively, when an electric field is applied to the base body side of an interface between the insulator filling the trench and the base body in such a way as to be perpendicular to the interface with a value of strength becoming {(E_I/E_S)²−

1}/{(ε

_S/ε

_I)²−

1} times of E_S, the drain region and a semiconductor region becoming a body region in the base body have characteristics where the drain region and the semiconductor region becoming the body region are not completely isolated from each other by a depletion layer spreading over in the insulator filling the trench and the semiconductor region in the base body.

9. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, letting the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and the value of the relative permittivity of the semiconductor material forming the base body be E_S and ε

_S, respectively, and letting the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and a value of a relative permittivity of the insulator filling the trench be E_I and ε

_I, respectively, when an electric field is applied to the base body side of an interface between the insulator filling the trench and the base body in such a way as to be perpendicular to the interface with a value of strength becoming {(E_I/E_S)²−

1}/{(ε

_S/ε

_I)²−

1} times of E_S, the drain region and a semiconductor region becoming a body region in the base body have characteristics where the drain region and the semiconductor region becoming the body region are not completely isolated from each other by a depletion layer spreading over in the insulator filling the trench and the semiconductor region in the base body.

10. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the semiconductor material forming the base body is 4H—

SiC with the {0001} plane thereof taken as a principal surface of the base body, the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the insulator filling the trench is 2.5 MV/cm or more, and a product of the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and the value of the relative permittivity of the insulator is 25 MV/cm or less.

11. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the semiconductor material forming the base body is one of 4H—

SiC with the {11 2 0} plane thereof taken as a principal surface of the base body, 6H—

SiC with the {11 2 0} plane thereof taken as a principal surface of the base body, 6H—

SiC with the {01 1 4} plane thereof taken as a principal surface of the base body, or 4H—

SiC with the {03 3 8} plane thereof taken as a principal surface of the base body, and the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the insulator filling the trench is 1.8 MV/cm or more, and a product of the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and the value of the relative permittivity of the insulator is 18 MV/cm or less.

12. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the semiconductor material forming the base body is 3C—

SiC, the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the insulator filling the trench is 1.5 MV/cm or more, and a product of the normal value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and the value of the relative permittivity of the insulator is 15 MV/cm or less.

13. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the semiconductor material forming the base body is 3 MV/cm or less, the product of the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength and the value of the relative permittivity of the semiconductor material is 12 MV/cm or more.

14. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 10, wherein a plane of the semiconductor material forming the base body, the plane having an off orientation angle of 10°

or less from the crystal plane of the semiconductor material, is taken as the principal surface of the base body.

15. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the value of the relative permittivity of the gate insulator film is larger than the value of the relative permittivity of the insulator filling the trench.

16. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the value of the relative permittivity of the gate insulator film is larger than the value of the relative permittivity of the insulator filling the trench.

17. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the value of the relative permittivity of the gate insulator film is larger than the value of the relative permittivity of the insulator filling the trench.

18. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the value of the relative permittivity of the gate insulator film is larger than the value of the relative permittivity of the insulator filling the trench.

19. A method of forming a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:

forming a base body formed of semiconductor material, the base body having a trench formed from the top surface thereof;

forming a body region provided on the top surface side of the base body;

forming a source region provided on the top surface side of the body region;

forming a drain region provided on the bottom surface side of the base body;

forming a drift layer provided in the base body between the source region and the drain region;

forming a highly doped layer forming at least part of the drain region;

forming a gate insulator film formed of insulating material provided at least on sidewall surfaces of the trench; and

forming a gate electrode provided in the trench with the gate insulator film provided at least between the sidewall surface of the trench,

wherein a product of a value of an insulation breakdown electric field strength and a value of a relative permittivity of the semiconductor material forming the base body is larger than a product of a normal value of an insulation breakdown electric field strength and a value of a relative permittivity of the insulating material forming the gate insulator film,

wherein the trench penetrates the base body and the drift layer and reaches the highly doped layer on the drain region side,

wherein a section of the trench deeper than the gate electrode is filled with an insulator having a normal value of an insulation breakdown electric field strength equal to or higher than the value of the insulation breakdown electric field strength of the semiconductor material of the base body,

wherein the insulator at the bottom end of the gate electrode is thicker than the drift layer,

wherein the sidewall surfaces of the trench located below the gate electrode is inclined to form a trapezoidal profile, and

wherein the semiconductor material forming the base body is SiC, and each of the gate insulator film and the insulator filling the trench is SiO2.